Racism is where someone treats another person differently because their skin colour is not the same as theirs, they speak a different language or have different religious beliefs, for example.

The UK is full of people who follow lots of different faiths and religions. Most of the time they all get along and people are free to live the way they want to.

However, some groups are targeted because of their beliefs, and because of events that people blame them for – even if this is incorrect.

It is a crime to be racist to someone in the United Kingdom. According to UK law, a person is committing a ‘hate crime’ if they direct hostile behaviour at someone based on that person’s race and they can face criminal charges.

In 2019, there were almost 80,000 hate crimes in the UK. That’s 10% more than the year before.

Some people believe that they are better than others – just because of the colour of their skin.

But racism can come from ignorance too – some people might not even know they are being racist in how they are acting.

That’s because they might have made assumptions based on another person’s colour or culture. This is sometimes called ‘racial discrimination’.

A lot of racism comes from history – for centuries, white Europeans were in charge of much of the world and thought they were better than people from other countries.

Racism can cause individuals to feel angry, upset or depressed. If you feel that someone is being racist towards you, please speak to our safeguarding team or you can find support on the following websites: